“God never gives a thorn without this added grace, He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.” – Martha Snell Nicholson (1)

I stared across the desk in shock at my child’s doctor. What did you just say? My mind was racing, not fully processing the words coming from his mouth.

“I’ll be frank. In all my years of practice, I have never seen anyone do well with the specific set of circumstances that your son is dealing with from his past. I’m telling you this so you won’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not your fault. It’s not his fault. It’s just the unfairness of life.”

He has never seen anyone do well. Never. As I drove home, I did just the opposite of what the doctor said. I was really hard on myself, the guilt and feelings of failure threatening to overwhelm me. We (my husband and I) were in so far over our heads, with no idea where to go next…feeling inadequate and unequipped to be the parents our son needed. The list of needs was so long, exhaustion always right there.

Lord, help. Jesus, I don’t know how to help this child you gave us. I am not enough for him.

And then a phrase I had learned from my discipleship group came to my mind. “There’s grace for that.”

There’s grace.

I love this quote from Max Lucado about God’s grace: Jesus does not say, “Come to me, all who are perfect and sinless.” Just the opposite. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28 NASB). There is no fine print. A second shoe is not going to drop. God’s promise has no hidden language. Let grace happen, for heaven’s sake. No more performing for God, no more clamoring after God. Of all the things you must earn in life, God’s unending affection is not one of them. You have it. Stretch yourself out in the hammock of grace. You can rest now. (2)

I could say so many things about what God’s grace is to me…it’s His strength, favor, mercy, power, His love. And those are all true. But for me, in this time and place, my favorite definition of grace is “you can rest now.”

God’s grace floods in and covers me, and it whispers, “I’ve got this Tammy. Trust me. You can rest now.”

And as I placed all my doubts, inadequacies, fears, and lack of knowledge regarding treatment for my son in God’s more than capable hands, peace flooded my heart as His grace took over. In that moment, my only job was to “you can rest now.”

There’s always more than enough grace...

Jesus, thank you for reminding me that there is more than enough grace for whatever I face. When I bring my burdens to you, I can let go in trust, and rest in your sufficiency. Amen.

If you are an imperfect wife, mom, daughter, or friend, struggling to stay focused on God in the craziness and find joy in the heartache, then we have something in common. I am a recovering perfectionist and daughter of the King, slowly learning to fully trust the One who sees me just as I am, and is already pleased. I’m so glad you are here.